


Endurance

by Katuary



Series: Cullen Rutherford & Evelyn Trevelyan [11]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Cynicism, Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC, Exalted Council, F/M, Friendship betrayal, Injury Recovery, Major Character Injury, Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC, newlyweds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-07-28 09:59:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20062168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katuary/pseuds/Katuary
Summary: The end and aftermath of Trespasser for Inquisitor Evelyn Trevelyan:“Every step of the Exalted Council, Evelyn kept the same mantra in her head. Just a little further. It was a lie, but one she clung to. Take everything in steps. Survive this minute, then survive the next.”





	1. Final Stretch

Every step of the Exalted Council, Evelyn kept the same mantra in her head. _Just a little further._ It was a lie, but one she clung to. Take everything in steps. Survive this minute, then survive the next.

They’d been so close to being _done_, or at least being able to return home. Then the dead Qunari. Running Maker knew where through more eluvians than she’d seen in her life. Demons, spies, gaatlok stashed in all the major cities of Thedas. And throughout it all, the damn Anchor flaring and discharging.

Toward the end, she thought her arm was melting. Flesh dripping acid green from her fingertips. _Was_ she imagining it?

_Just a little further._

Weaponizing the discharge. Staying well away from her companions to protect them from each unpredictable blast. Biting back panic so hard her cheek bled raw when the last eluvian only allowed her to pass.

Solas. Temporary relief from the Anchor’s meltdown. Growing horror as her own words from years ago pounded through her mind:_ I’ll take a breath, see where things went wrong, and try again._

If she’d had any strength left, she would have taken the chance. No matter that he’d effortlessly turned all who opposed him to stone. No matter she could hardly grasp her staff. She had to _try_.

The Anchor flared again, and all she could control was her voice.

“_If I live..._; Every word might crack her teeth, but she refused to be thought in even tacit agreement. “..._I’m coming to stop you._..”

She fully expected to be struck down then. Instead, Solas spoke again. Measured and level as he nearly always was.

“I know.”

_Just a little farther._

“Take my hand.”

She’d used the last of her strength; she couldn’t resist even if she wished to. _Just a little...just..._please _make it...make it stop..._

“I’m sorry. Live well, while time remains.”

Another violent burst of energy, one last surge of white-hot pain, the world tilting until she saw the shimmer of the eluvian she’d passed through.

Then she knew nothing. 


	2. Take a Breath

She was delirious. Looming figures materialized above her. They were speaking, but Evelyn couldn't make out the words. Her gaze rested on the shifting rainbow of light behind them, her eyes half open and unfocused. She was sure she was dying; in her pain-drunk state, it was the best relief she could ask for.

The popping and hissing of the Anchor distracted her for a moment, but her left arm went suddenly and sharply numb to the elbow. That was better, though it sent weak shivers through her limp body. Her head shook. She felt a sharp pain in her lip and tasted blood.

A few words made it to her sluggish brain at least, coalescing into hazy sentences.

"This won't hold for long. We need to move quickly."

"I've got her."

Large hands pressed Evelyn further into the ground, but it didn't hurt. Green danced behind her closed eyelids again, searing away the chill in her arm, and she heard herself scream.

"Cassandra, you'll need to do it."

"I know. Keep her still."

"Hang in there, boss. It'll be over soon."

The whistle of a blade through the air. The sharp, wet sound of it slicing through flesh. Then nothing.

* * *

Evelyn was aware of nothing else until hours..._days?_...later. The air smelled sharp. Bitter, floral, metallic. Elfroot, dawn lotus, blood. She winced and cracked her eyes open a sliver.

Where was she?

Soft morning light streamed in through open latticed windows. Not the odd shimmering atmosphere of the Crossroads. She released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. It wasn't the end, but she could rest. Rest, take a breath, then...then keep moving as she always did. Find a way to stop him.

She shifted uncomfortably and flexed her fingers. Her right hand had been clenched into a stiff fist in her sleep. Her left...she frowned and shook off the dawning realization as best she could. Instead, she fumbled at her throat with fingers she could barely control, relaxing only when she felt the coin and wedding band that still hung there on a simple chain.

She'd added her ring to the necklace when the flares began. Had she only worn it on her hand for a day?

"Evelyn?"

_Cullen._

She opened her eyes fully, though it felt like daggers in her temple to do so. Her fingers clutched the necklace, thumb swiping over the coin out of habit.

"I'm okay." Her tongue felt too thick for the reassurance to emerge properly. Painkillers. That made sense. Much as she wished to deny it, she knew her left arm was gone. She lifted the residual limb, gritting her teeth when the gesture tugged against muscle that no longer existed. Still not half as bad as the meltdowns, so the pain was practically a relief. Cullen's hand was at her shoulder then, gently pressing her to relax.

"You need to rest." His voice was soft, but nearly as ragged as hers. The dark circles beneath his eyes were much more prominent than usual. Evelyn's lips quirked into a tired smile as she raised her hand to cup his cheek. He hadn't shaved in...had she ever seen him with this much stubble?

"So should you. I...what _day_ is it? How long..." Her eyes fluttered shut as he rested his forehead on hers.

"Three days." 

"Three _days?_" Her eyes flew open again, the startled movement sending another stab of pain through her head.

"The healers had to...refine...what Cassandra had to do in the Crossroads." _The amputation_. He avoided the word, even with the evidence of the operation right in front of them. "The procedure took time, then there was the infection..." He stopped himself with a wince, moving back and shaking his head. "You don't want to hear this." 

She reached for his hand and squeezed. It didn't hurt her to hear, not while her mind was still catching up with everything that had happened, but it clearly hurt him to recount. _That_ she wouldn't allow.

"It's alright. It's over now." The very first step, anyway. Now that she wasn't actively dying, she couldn't shirk her duties. "Solas. The Council. I have to..." 

"They will wait." 

"Cullen..."

"They _will _wait. They know what happened with the Qunari. They know you almost..." Almost died. She finished his sentence in her head automatically. This must have been a closer call than she’d thought.

Why _did_ Solas leave her alive? Why allow her to return and warn the people he didn't care if he destroyed? 

Of course, there was every possibility that some of his agents remained, whether he commanded them or not. Perhaps he was still using her, even with the Anchor gone. Those spies could be anyone...messengers, soldiers, scouts, kitchen staff. Where did she _begin_ to plan when those plans could be intercepted in an instant? She needed more time to work around new constraints, to discuss strategy with the handful of people she did trust. It wouldn't help if she marched into the Council fresh from her sick bed, unprepared and still weak.

"I'm sorry," she relented softly, "You're right. It can wait until...until I have leave from the healers. Just...come here?" Even close as they were, she needed to feel the reassurance of his arms around her. He hesitated.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"We'll be careful. Please?" 

It took a few minutes of careful shifting before they found what worked. Him on her right side, arm wrapped securely around her stomach to avoid jostling the wrapped limb as much as possible. His other hand cupped her head where it rested on his shoulder, her remaining arm lay just above his on her ribs. It was easier to relax then, drift back to sleep to her husband's fingers combing steadily through her hair. The coming days were bound to be relentless, worse than the year spent defending the world from Corypheus. She would need to fight against a friend, and to give no leniency despite that.

A storm was coming. She'd take her comforts where she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really doubt that every mission in DAI would have been restricted to only a four person party in reality, especially for something like the Trespasser missions where you're facing a good chunk of the Qunari army. My go-to is Bull, Dorian, Cassandra in gameplay, but I think you'd need a lot more than that after the Anchor fully broke down. Given the end of the Solas cutscene, I think the Inquisitor's arm still needs to be physically removed once he leaves. So I'm thinking Vivienne to numb it, Bull to keep her still, Cassandra to do the actual cut, Dorian to cauterize so they can get her back to the healers. And everyone else either back at the Winter Palace or running in circles in the background because I couldn't think of a job for them (Cole would be a lot more useful if I'd kept him on the spirit path). 
> 
> Also going to simplify things and say the events in Trespasser take place over one day (one HELL of an eventful day) since no one gave a timeline. It only goes to night once, right? Worst. Honeymoon. Ever. (Although getting kicked out of your castle two minutes after your wedding and coronation to fight talking darkspawn is a close second).


End file.
